Palomino Fino

Sometimes shortened to just Palomino but properly named Palomino Fino, to distinguish it from the coarser Palomino Basto it has replaced, this is the sherry grape, grown around Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain. It can withstand drought well and produces a reliable crop of slightly low acid, low sugar grapes whose wine may oxidise easily – in short, perfect raw material for sherry. It has also been planted in north-western Spain but without producing wines of great distinction. In the Canary Islands and elsewhere in Spain it is often known as Listán Blanco, or Listán de Jerez; in France, where it is of declining importance, it is simply Listan, while in Portugal's Alentejo it is known as Perrum. It is grown to a limited extent in California's Central Valley, in Chile, and in Australia and South America. Palomino Fino was once widely planted in South Africa but most of the wine is used for distilling or basic blends. It was widely planted in Galicia once.